On the morning of Nov. 8, Texas Tech held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the campus’s newest addition, the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research.
President Duane Nellis said the $10 million project will help Tech with its goal of becoming a top research university.
The new center isn’t the only construction happening on Tech’s campus. In August, Tech broke ground on a new dorm on the west side of campus. At the beginning of September, at the first home game of the football season, Tech unveiled its new scoreboard.
Tech is supposed to get funding for new construction projects from Tuition Revenue Bonds, or TRBs, according to Michael Molina, Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning and Construction.
“This year the TRB out of the state legislature did not pass,” Molina said. “So there was no state funding this year for capital improvement projects.”
Molina said that Tech has not been issued Tuition Revenue Bonds in the last six years, and that the construction on campus is now funded through donations.
When asked about the new Burkhart Center, President Nellis said it was built primarily through a donation from the Burkhart family, and the rest came from state funding.
The state funding Nellis refers to is given to Tech for their research programs, which includes the new autism center.Tech is striving to become a Tier One university, and because it was named an emerging research university, it is eligible to receive funding from the Texas Research Incentive Program, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website. The program awards funds based on how much money in private gifts a university receives. In 2010 and 2011, Tech received $25 million each year from the Texas Research Incentive Program for raising $24.3 million in 2009 according to Tech’s website.
New construction is just a part of life on Tech’s campus. With a 2020 goal of 40,000 students in mind, Tech is getting ready for and attracting new students.
“It’s all driven by growth,” Molina said. “Given that freshman have to live on campus, we have to keep up that standard.”
Molina said there was no money taken from student tuition to fund construction projects on campus.
However, one look at the tuition fees on Tech’s website says otherwise. A new building for the Rawls College of Business was completed in 2012, but students in the business college are still paying for it. A fee of up to $21 per hour was added to the in-state students’ 2013-2014 tuition to account for continued growth and associated debt for the enhancement of the college’s facilities, according to Tech’s tuition and fees estimate grid on their student business service website.
Upcoming construction projects and their costs.
In 2008, public universities in Texas got approximately 35 percent of all their funding from the state and 27 percent came from students, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website.
The new scoreboard’s cost was $11 million, according to Tech’s facilities planning and construction website. The new dorm’s budget is $54 million, according to the website.
Prospective projects include a $90 million College of Engineering expansion plan and a $21 million renovation of the abandoned Weeks Hall, according to the website.
Molina said it is ultimately the decision of the Board of Regents as to what gets built and where.
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